Vasconcelos

It's certainly not an accurate topic, a lot of this geneaology is based on old records, probably not all of it correct, and the further back you go, the more inaccurate it gets..but it's still what is commonly accepted, so I'll play along. I found it slightly disturbing the amount of times people eventually ended up marrying their cousins (not necessarly direct ones, though)..or maybe I shouldn't, it was rather common practice at the time, it probably also means I'm descendent of people with serious issues and mental retardardation, which could explain a thing or two.


I'm starting this form the forefather of the Vasconcellos (ancient spelling) noble family, Dom Martim Moniz, who according to legend died at the siege of Lisbon, by getting himself stuck in a small door at the walls of Lisbon, and surviving long enough for Crusaders to storm in...his death in this fashion is most likely than not a myth, but it's certain he lived.



Martim Moniz was a man of high Portuguese nobility. I remember reading somewhere he fought in Battle of Ourique, in lower Alentejo, the battle that eventually made Afonso Henriques (of burgundian descent) want to split Portugal from Galicia and eventually become the first king after fighting his mother in battle. He's a Portuguese national hero, but when looking at things in retrospect, maybe it would have been best just to stay with the rest of the of Leon...whatever, it doesn't matter now.

As a member of high Iberian nobility, Martim Moniz had Germanic ancestry, aswell as Basque..and some other random from people who were most likely than not random indegenous people from northern Iberia. There are some incredibly powerful people in our bloodline, if they weren't from roughly 1500 years ago I'd actually start feeling somwehat important.


Amongst some of our ancestors are the following:


[LIST][*][B]Ferdinand I the Great[/B], king of León and Castille - considered the first king of Castille and by extension the current kingom of Spain. He was descendent of the Jimenez dinasty of Navarre.[*][B]Garcia III the Great[/B], king of Navarre - united various christian kingdoms in early 1000s, main resposible for "creating" the Saint James Way.[*][B]Alfonso V the Noble[/B], king of León - died in the siege of Viseu in 1028.[*][B]Mendo Gonçalves[/B], count of Portucale - died in Tui defending it from a Viking raid.[*][B]Hermenegildo Guterres[/B], count of Coimbra - won a battle near Porto, it is said the blood tainted the river, henceforth named Rio Tinto..ironically it's where my maternal grandmother (also of Vasconcelos descent) lives.[*][B]Don Pelayo[/B], started the Reconquista by inflicting the first military defeat on Islamic invaders at Covadonga. Founded the Kingdom of Asturias.[*][B]Alfonso I the Catholic[/B], king of Asturias. Conquered Gallaecia and León, up to the Douro. Paved way for the Repobloación 100 later.[*][B]Ordoño I[/B], king of Asturias.[*][B]Ramiro I[/B], king of Asturias. Said to have won a battle in which Santiago Matamouros intervened. Father of Ordoño.[/LIST]

[LIST][*][B]Egica I[/B], [I]rex Gothorum[/I], most anti-jewish Visigothic king to ever rule.[*][B]Amalaric I Balthes[/B], [I]rex Gothorum[/I]. Lost most of Septimania to invading Franks, despite being married to one. He also used to beat his catholic Frankish wife.[*][B]Alaric II Balthes[/B], [I]rex Gothorum[/I]. Ruler of most of Iberia (save for Gallaecia and Basqueland), Septimania and Aquitania, which got lost after he died in a losing battle. Father of Amalaric.[*][B]Euric I Balthes[/B], [I]rex Gothorum[/I]. First ruler of the unified and independent Visigothic Kingdom after winning a civil war. Father of Alaric II[*][B]Theodoric I[/B], the Visigoth. Defeated Attila the Hun in Catalaunian Fields (also know as Châlons), where he died.[*][B]Theodoric the Great[/B], king of the Osthrogoths, ruler of Italy.[/LIST]

[LIST][*][B]Clovis I[/B], first king of the Franks, conquered Gaul. Forefather to the French nation.[*][B]Saint Clothild[/B], Burgundian, wife of Clovis I. Converted his husband into Catholicism, and by extension the Franks.[*][B]Clothaire I the Old[/B], king of the Franks.[/LIST]

[LIST][*][B]Theodosius I the Great[/B], last Roman emperor to rule over the Western and Eastern halves of the Empire.[*][B]Valentinian I the Great[/B], emperor of the West Roman Empire, last one to be titled as the Great.[/LIST]

There are many others, but I suppose these are the most important. It's interesting to realize that high nobility in the early middle ages in Iberia was indeed of Visigothic stock, which in turn had became in contact with Basques and Franks in Occitane and included them in the bloodline. The Roman Emperors were a major suprise.

Disappointing news is...considering I'm from northern Portugal I was hoping to see Suevian or Galician lords and kings, but no, absolutely nothing...just Astures, Cantabrians, Basques and Catalonians.



This is all very interesting, but it doesn't [U]really[/U] matter anything..not for me, and certainly not for anyone else, but it's always fun to know who our ancestors were in those turbulent times. I may have pretty much nothing in common with any of those men, or I can be the spitting face of one.
In the end, it's just a nice bedtime story to tell my kids when I have them..when they hear about the Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Franks they'll know "those, too, were my ancestors". They'll know these weren't just invaders, they are a part of us all Iberians, and they led our people in fighting for their freedom and against the invading islamic enemy.


The REAL big question now is this:
Next time I play Age of Empires II, which civilization should I chose?
Goths, Franks, or Spanish?
That's what's really counting now!




I end this with an historical tomb inscription, found in Idanha-a-velha in the 9th century, when Christian forces got to Beira Baixa, in Central Portugal.

[I][SIZE="3"]Hic requiescit Rodericus, rex Gothorum[/SIZE][/I]